BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules Unanimously Against Obama

BREAKING: Supreme Court Rules Unanimously Against Obama

American’s right to privacy and the Fourth Amendment scored a big win today when the Supreme Court ruled against warrantless cell phone searches by the police.
This is just the latest of several Supreme Court decisions against the Obama administration and their attack on the Constitution, as they just ruled the other day to limit EPA regulations, and recently ruled unanimously to strike down a Justice Department power grab.
This ruling sets a precedent that can be used against the NSA spying on American citizens, and the Obama administration’s use of “Constitution Free Zones” in border regions and around federal buildings.

According to CNN, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that police officers cannot search a person’s cell phone without first obtaining a warrant.

By a 9-0 vote, the justices said smart phones and other electronic devices were not in the same category as wallets, briefcases, and vehicles — all currently subject to limited initial examination by law enforcement.

Generally such searches are permitted if there is “probable cause” that a crime has been committed, to ensure officers’ safety and prevent destruction of evidence.

“The fact that technology now allows an individual to carry such information in his hand does not make the information any less worthy of the protection for which the Founders fought,” the ruling said. “Our answer to the question of what police must do before searching a cell phone seized incident to an arrest is accordingly simple — get a warrant.”

A Justice Department spokesperson said they will work with law enforcement agencies to ensure that they are in “full compliance” with the ruling.

“We will make use of whatever technology is available to preserve evidence on cell phones while seeking a warrant, and we will assist our agents in determining when exigent circumstances or another applicable exception to the warrant requirement will permit them to search the phone immediately without a warrant,”

It is unclear if the ruling will lead to defendants having their convictions overturned if they resulted from a warrantless search of their cell phone.

But the court minced no words in separating such devices from other things a person might have on them when detained by police.

“Modern cell phones, as a category, implicate privacy concerns far beyond those implicated by the search of a cigarette pack, a wallet, or a purse,” said Chief Justice John Roberts. “Cell phones differ in both a quantitative and a qualitative sense from other objects that might be kept on an arrestee’s person.”

This is excellent news for privacy advocates and all American citizens.  As mentioned before, although this case has no relation to the NSA’s warrantless data-mining and spying on Americans through their phones and computers, this decision sets a huge precedent.

The Court would be hard-pressed to rationalize why a government agency like the NSA can search through a person’s private information on their cell phone if the police can’t.  With several lawsuits against the NSA pending and working their way through the court system, it is hoped that their spying will soon be struck down and ruled as unconstitutional.

Please share this on Facebook and Twitter if you age happy to see the Supreme Court rule in favor of the American citizen’s natural and inherent right to privacy, as protected by the Fourth Amendment.